Fundraising Youngsters Pedal For Their Parish

Young volunteers across Dorset are preparing to pedal for their parish between 10am and 6pm at this year’s Ride+Stride event, held on Saturday 13 September.

The annual national fundraising day, organised locally by Dorset Historic Churches Trust, invites participants to cycle, walk and even horse ride to their pick of over 300 of Dorset’s churches and chapels.

One fundraising team in Hooke, made up of six young participants and three adults, will set out from St Giles’ Church on eight bicycles and a horse! The group plans to visit 5 churches during the fundraising event, covering a total of 10 miles in the day. All sponsorship money raised will be split between Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT) and the maintenance and repair of their church.

Lord-Lieutenant for Dorset, and President of DHCT, Angus Campbell said: “We should be very proud of all the riders and striders taking part in this year’s Ride+Stride event – the young and the young at heart! This annual event is a great day out, during which families can explore Dorset’s wonderful local churches whilst raising money to support their local church and the important work that DHCT does across the county.

“Dorset is filled with spectacular church heritage and the event presents an opportunity to explore the history and architecture of churches, some of which are not regularly open. Many of our churches date back to medieval England, with some of our earliest churches built during the Saxon period. We hope to see as many people as possible taking part in this event and preserving our heritage for future generations!”

Regional law firm Porter Dodson, with offices in Sherborne and Dorchester, is once again very generously sponsoring the official Ride+Stride distinctive yellow T-Shirts, which will be given out to cyclists taking part in the event.

Since 1991, the Trust has raised over £875,000 from the Ride+Stride event, formerly known as the Great Cycle Ride. The money raised is the main source of income for the Trust, which helped 27 churches in need of repair and renovation in 2013, by awarding grant-aid totalling £99,500.